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| Participants and presenters at the workshop held on April 13th at the Carnegie Learning Centre |
Held between February and April 2012, there were full houses at each of the 3 workshops hosted by the Union Gospel Mission (50 participants), the Carnegie Learning Centre (4o participants), and the Downtown Eastside Education Centre (30 participants). One of the workshop presenters, Suzanne Smythe from Simon Fraser University, remarked: "It really blows me away how many people attended the workshops. There was a very high level of interest and participation. A very dedicated group of educators!"
One of the key themes that came up throughout the workshop series is that learning differences should not be viewed as deficits. In fact, everybody has learning differences which stretch across a wide spectrum! The key, however, is for educators and volunteer tutors— and learners themselves—to have some understanding about learning differences and then activate strategies which tap into the learners’ strengths and enable them to meaningfully engage with the material or task.
Workshop objectives were to help develop strategies and knowledge in supporting learning differences, as well as to provide opportunities for educators, volunteer tutors, and learners from across the Downtown Eastside neighbourhood to connect and share ideas. Participant feedback indicated that both objectives were met to a high degree, and that similar professional development workshops around literacy and learning were desired and needed. Along with the idea of a volunteer tutor conference, participants provided suggestions for future workshops, including:
· Incorporating First Nations approaches
· Designing student-centered activities; learners take initiative over their own learning process
· Different methods of teach ESL students who are aging and need more guaidance with memory
· Mental health/addiction issues and learning
· Family literacy
· Digital literacy
· Learning in context
· Program development
· Assessment strategies
· Creating considerate texts/material
· How to locate resources
· Intercultural, anti-colonial perspectives on learning
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| Participants and presenters at the May 13th workshop hosted by the Downtown Eastside Education Centre |
To learn more about the topics discussed during the DTES Professional Development Workshop Series, visit the DTES Adult Literacy Roundtable website. Thank you to all who contributed to making this series a success, including generous funding from the Rotary Club of Vancouver Arbutus.
